Shocking The World This Weekend With Duke, UNC, NC State, And NCCU
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 8:50AM Joe Simmons 
One of the perks of living in the Triangle is the ability to see good basketball all of the time. I got my weekend off to an early start this week as the Blue Devils laid the wood to Colorado State. I was honored to have media credentials handed to me to cover this game. The Devils didn’t disappoint and came to play. Colorado State came out scrappy but didn’t have enough to combat the dynamic backcourt play of Austin Rivers and Andre Dawkins.
Rivers Scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half with nine of those points coming from the three-point line. Rivers also sank a career-high three three-pointers and now has multiple treys in five consecutive games.
Dawkins has been the silent assassin for Duke this season. Dawkins plays with a smooth clutch shooting stroke similar to former star Trajan Langdon. Dawkins hit three three-pointers, giving him 120 for his career. He also scored a team-high 15 points in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting before leaving the game with a back injury.
Duke polished off Colorado State with an 87 – 64 win and Cameron was as crazy as it always is.
Stop two had me covering UNC vs. Long Beach State. Once again the media credential had me in an amazing location in the Smith Center and I was happy to be a part of a well respected contingent of media. The best part was that I was able to take the little princess to the game with me as I had a friend who was attending and was able to help me keep an eye on her.
The Tar Heels opened slow as Casper Ware was giving Kendall Marshall the business. Marshall didn’t have an answer for Ware and eventually Roy moved Dexter Strickland over to try and slow down the sharp shooter. The UNC crowd was dismal for most of the game but they got inspired and began to erupt after Reggie Bullock decided to put the Tar Heels on his back and knocked down a few shots. Eventually UNC’s size became the difference in the game as John Hensen stepped his game up and helped the Heels close out Long Beach State.
I did learn that Harrison Barnes has an off the dribble game but I am not so sure it is on an NBA level. I also learned that P.J. Harrison is erratic. He has all the tools and the game but when he is not locked in, he may be more of a liability than an asset.
Stop three had me working as I was on the radio covering NCCU vs. N.C. State University in the classic Reynolds Coliseum. NCCU came in short handed as their sharp shooter Landon Clement was suffering from an infection on his foot. The game started slow as both teams committed a lot of early fouls. C.J. Harrison picked up two quick fouls as he was trying to guard Kansas State transfer Dominique Sutton. Sutton was aggressive and drew five charges in the game.
Ray Willis shot the ball poorly from the field in the first half and got in some early foul trouble. NC State picked up the tempo by getting the ball inside early and got the Central big men in foul trouble early as they went on a run early in the ball game. C.J. Williams showed why he is a potential all conference player for NC State as he dominated the post and mid range in the first half.
The second half was a different story as NCCU showed its offensive prowess. Central took charge on defense and cut the lead to three before NCSU iced the game with some clutch shooting by Scott Wood. The atmosphere was electric but NCSU wasn’t expecting this type of performance from the mid major HBCU.
All this being said the weekend was a success. Not many people can say they were able to shock the world in so many settings.
Stay Breezy ~ I’m Out!
Reader Comments (2)
Looks like good times were had. Good games too, well except for the Duke blowout. Good post.
the NCCU game was awesome. I am glad i got a chance to go. You had to love your view everytime those cheer leaders came out. they were practically bent over in front of you every time out.